Cotton opener and cleaner.



J. C. GARNER & C. S. REYNOLDS COTTON OPENER AND CLEANER. APPLICATION FILEDIJUQLY 7.1911.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- THE COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH ,co, WASHINGTONPP. c,

J. C. GARNER & C. S. REYNOLDS.

COTTON OPENER AND CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7,191!- L1 85,, Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

gmwwliow C. la/WM THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

N ENS AN I.-

J'AMES G. GARNER, OF DALLAS, AND CHARLES S. REYNOLDS, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, ASSIGNORS, IBY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO GARNER BEGIN MACHINERY COMPANY, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, A CORPORATION OF TEXAS.

COTTON OPENER AND CLEANER.

Application filed July 7, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMEs C. GARNER, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, and CHARLES S. REY- NOLDS, residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton Openers and Cleaners, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to machines for cleaning and renovating cotton and other similar fibrous materials.

In the cotton industry as it now exists a considerable amount of so-called second or low-grade cotton comes upon the market and commands a relatively low price. This cotton comes from various sources, but one of the sources is found in the lint which falls from the gins in the regular process of ginning, and the lint which falls from the presses in pressing the cotton. Such waste cotton falling upon the floor is swept up as it accumulates and is finally baled, together with the trash and dirt which naturally accumulates with it. Other sources of this second grade cotton might be pointed out, but it is sufficient to note that while coming from various sources, the cotton fiber is in large part of comparatively good quality, its defects being largely due to its tangled and trashy condition. It has been found that the cotton fiber in such a condition can be cleaned and renovated so that the resulting product compares very favorably with the cotton which is rated on the market as first-grade. In carrying out such a cleaning and renovating process in accordance with the present invention, the cotton which has been pressed solid in bales is first opened up, partially separated and fluffed and is then still further separated into minute flakes, being finally condensed and pressed. During the preliminary opening up and fluifing of the cotton the coarser and heavier particles of the dirt and other foreign materials are separated, and in the subsequent final separation of the fiber, the latter is thoroughly straightened out and the last traces of dirt are separated.

The present invention relates more especially to the means which are employed Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. its, 1916.

Serial No. 637,355.

in the first steps of opening up, fiufiing and partially cleaning the baled fiber, and has for its object the provision of efficient and effective devices for performing this work.

In the accompanying drawingsFigure 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying the improvements. Fig. 2 is a right end elevation of the same. Fig. 8 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 33 in Fig. 5. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section on the line l 1 in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the machine, together with the suction fan which cooperates with the machine and which in a sense constitutes a part of it.

The machine comprises a pair of spiked feeding rolls 1 and 2, which are mounted side by side above a larger toothed picker drum 3. A screen l, surrounding the drum 3 on its front and under sides, has an upwardly inclined part 45 and a horizontal part 49. The rotary drum 3 and the screen 4 are entirely inclosed by a comparatively tight casing comprising a floor or bottom 5, side walls 6 and 7, a rear wall 8, and a front wall 9, which is preferably in the form of a hinged door. The rear part of this casing has a top closure 10 and the forward part is closed in part by the plate or board 11, in part by the wind-box 12, which opens into the upper part of the casing, and in part by the feed rolls 1 and '2 which are disposed between the cover plate 11 and the wind-box 12. The side of the plate 11 adjacent the roller 1 is provided with a toothed plate 11 which is disposed adjacent the spikes or teeth of the feed roller 1 and serves as a comb or cleaner. A similar toothed plate 12 is mounted on the casing of the wind-boX 12 adjacent the feed roller 2.

18 is a sliding door in the rear wall of the casing and this door can be raised more or less to provide an air opening of variable size.

Adjacent the casing structure described above is arranged an elongated frame and easing structure, the rear wall of which is formed as a continuation of the rear wall 8, while its front wall 14: is offset from the front wall 9. The front wall 14 is formed in part by a series of hinged doors 15, 15, which give access to the lower part of the casing. .The floor 16 of this part of the casing constitutes a continuation of the floor part 5. The top of this elongated part of the casing is formed by a semi-cylindrical cover 17. Directly under the casing cover 17 is mounted a rotating beater in the form of a shaft 18, and a series of wings or blades 19, 19. These blades are curved backward somewhat, as indicated in Fig. 4 and are also canted forward, as shown in Fig. 3, or they should at least have their rear edges 19 inclined forward as .shown. Beneath the fan beater is arranged a semi-cylindrical screen 20 which extends throughout the length of the beater. The cylindrical casing of the beater, formed in part by the cover 17 and in part by the screen 20, communicates at its right end through an opening 21 with the casing of the drum 3. The shaft of the drum 3 is provided with a pulley 22, and 23 is a pulley mounted on the beater shaft 18 in line with the pulley 22. 24 is a counter-shaft suitably mounted on the casing framework and having an idler pulley 25 in line with the pulleys 22 and 23.

A belt 26, driven from any suitable power shaft, passes around the pulley 22, thence over the pulley 25, and then around the pulley 23, thus serving to drive the drum 3, the

. counter-shaft 24, and the beater shaft 18.

The counter-shaft 24 carries a pulley 27, and 28 is a pulley mounted on the shaft of the roller 2 in line with the pulley 27. A crossed belt 29 on these two pulleys serves to drive the feed roller 2 from the counter shaft 24, and as the feed rollers. are connected'at their right ends by gears 30, 30, the feed rolls are suitably driven in opposite directions. The various driving pulleys should be so proportioned as to drive the feed rolls 1 and 2 at a speed considerably slower than that of the drum 3.

At the'left end of the beater casing and in the rear wall thereof is formed a discharge opening 31 leading to a discharge pipe 32 which in turn opens into the eye or inlet of a centrifugal fan 33. This fan may be of any preferred construction and is shown as having a peripheral discharge pipe 34 and a pulley 35 by which the fan can be driven from any suitable power shaft.

To facilitate the inspection of the operation of themachine in its various parts, I prefer to provide the casing structure with windows at suitable points. Thus, plates of glass 7 may beset into the end wall 7, through which the cotton as it is drawn from the picker drum 3 and as it enters the casing of the beater can readily be observed. Similarly windows 1'7 may be provided in the'beater casing 17 through which the cotton can be observed in its course through the beater casing.

In the operation of the above-described machine, the baled cotton or other fiber is fed by an attendant upon the spiked, slowly moving feed rollers 1 and 2 which grip the fiber and feed it in a stream to the rapidly rotating drum 3, the spikes or teeth of which catch it and tear it up to a considerable extent, and sweep it rapidly over the screen 4. As the separated fiber is moved over the screen the heavier and coarser particles of dirt and trash are thrown off and fall through the screen upon the floor 5 of the casing. At the rear side of the drum the fiber is thrown off from the drum teeth and upward and rearward over the inclined and horizontal parts of the screens4 and 4 respectively. At this point the fiber is caught in a strong current of air which enters the casing mainly through the wind-box 12,but also through the opening of the door 13. This current of air is created by the suction of the fan 33 and it leads, therefore, from the casing of the picker drum 3 through the opening 21 into the cylindrical beater casing and thence out through the discharge pipe 32 to the inlet of the fan.

As the cotton fiber which is caught up by the air current is carried into the beater casing, it is subjected to the beating and centrifugal action of the beater blades 19 and is swept around and around in the casing as it gradually advances from the inlet to the discharge end of the beater. During this transit of the cotton through the beater casing it is separated to a further extent and is thoroughly fluffed and opened up. lVith the fiber in this condition the centrifugal action of the beater is more effective upon the heavier dirt particles than it is upon the fiber itself so that the dirt tends to be thrown outward and to pass down through the screen 20 upon the floor 16 of the casing. The object of canting the beater blades forward, as will now be readily understood, is to facilitate the advance of the cotton through the beater casing. If the blades were made straight with square corners the cotton would tend to catch upon them, whereas with the construction shown the cotton tends to slide off the blades. This result could, of course, be secured in part by inclining or beveling only the rear edges of the blades, but the construction shown is preferred.

WVhen the flulfed fiber reaches the discharge end of the beater casing it is discharged in part by centrifugal action and in part by the suction of the air current into the pipe 32 through which it passes to the inlet opening of the fan 33 and after passing around the fan casing is discharged through the pipe 34. This discharge pipe 34 can lead to any desired point where the wind-box 12. This wind-box is shown broken away, but it will be understood that it can be carried to any point where it is desired to take the supply of air. An auxiliary air inlet for the casing is afforded by the door 13. By permitting the entrance of air at this point a current is formed leading to the opening 21 which serves to prevent the accumulation of fiber in the rear part of the casing above the horizontal part 43 of the screen. By adjusting the door 13 up and down the volume of air admitted at this point can be varied as desired.

The doors 9 and 15 of the casing can readily be opened at any time to permit the removal of the dirt and impurities which have accumulated upon the floors 5 and 16 of the machine.

As the fiber is discharged from the picking drum 3, it flows up the inclined portion 4 of screen 4, its flow being slightly retarded. During this travel it is thoroughly agitated by the air current which fiows in a curved path downward from the wind boX 12 and then upward to opening 21 leading to the beater casing. This agitation of the cotton, during its travel up the incline of the screen, serves to separate it from the heavier dirt particles which have been reduced to a comparatively fine state by the action of the picker drum, and these particles pass readily through the screen.

The air current, which is admitted through the opening of the door 13 of the casing, flows over the horizontal portion 4 of the screen and opposes the air current which flows from the wind box 12. These two currents converge and unite, flowing upward through opening 21 into the beater casing. This results in the cotton fiber being picked up or lifted vertically from the picker screen to the opening through which it flows into the beater. Any particles of dirt which may remain with the fiber, being much heavier relatively than such fiber, will drop onto the screen and pass through the same when the cotton is lifted in this manner. This result is obtained by having the opening 21 above the screen 1 and providing regulable means for producing opposing air currents. Also, by having the beater arranged at right angles to the direction of flow of the fiber from the picker, and the opening 21 in one side of the picker casing, the direction of flow of the cotton from the picker drum is abruptly changed, which insures a very thorough working or agitation of the fiber and renders it possible to remove much more dirt than would be possible if the direction of flow were not changed at this point, as will be evident.

The cotton enters the beater casing in a comparatively clean state and in the best possible condition for the fiufiing operation to which it is to be subjected. Any very fine particles of foreign matter which may still remain in the fiber are readily removed by the beating and fiuffing operation.

that we claim is 1. In a fiber cleaning and renovating apparatus, the combination of means for disintegrating the condensed fiber, a beater arranged to act upon the disintegrated fiber, a casing structure inclosing the said disintegrating means and beater, said casing structure having an air inlet above and ad jacent the point where the fiber is discharged from the disintegrating means and an air outlet at a point remote from said inlet, and means for creating a current of air through the casing structure to cause the movement of the fiber therethrough.

2. In apparatus for cleaning and renovating fibrous materials. the combination of feed rolls, a picker drum arranged to cooperate with said rolls to disintegrate the condensed fiber, a screen disposed around said picker drum, and having a backward and upward inclined portion, a rotary beater arranged to receive the fiber discharged from the picker drum, a casing structure inclosing the picker drum, its screen and the rotary beater, said casing structure having an air inlet adjacent the point where the fiber is discharged from the picker drum and an outlet at a point remote therefrom, and means for creating a current of air through the casing structure to cause the movement of the fiber therethrough.

3. In an apparatus for cleaning and renovating fibrous materials, the combination of the casing, a picker drum mounted therein and arranged to discharge the fiber toward the rear of said casing, a screen partially surrounding said drum and 6X- tending rearward of the casing therefrom, heating means communicating with said casing through one side thereof, and means for causing a current of air to flow through said casing and heating means.

4. In an apparatus for cleaning and renovating fibrous materials, the combination of a casing, a picker drum mounted therein and arranged to discharge the fiber toward the back of said casing, a screen partially surrounding said drum and extending rearward therefrom, beating means communicating with the interior of said casing through one side thereof at a point in a vertical plane above said screen, and means for causing a current of air to flow through said casing and beating means.

5. In an apparatus for cleaning and renovating fibrous materials, the combination of the picker drum, the casing inclosing the said drum, the screen partially inclosing said drum and having a rearward and upward inclined portion and a horizontal portion, the beater means communieating with the interior of the said casing through one side thereof at a point in a vertical plane above the said horizontal portion of the screen, and means for caus ing a current of air to flow through the said casing and beater.

6. In an apparatus for cleaning and renovating fibrous materials, the combination of the picker drum, the casing inclosing said drum, the screen partially inelosing the drum and extending rearward of the casing therefrom, the rotary beater having its axis parallel to and above and in rear of the axis of the picker drum, the casing inclosing saidbeater and communieating at one end with the interior of the first mentioned casing, and means for causing a current of air to flow through both of said casings.

7. In an apparatus for treating and renovating fibrous materials, the combination of the rotary picker drum, the casing inelosing said drum and having an air inlet above and adjacent to the point of discharge of the drum, and an adjustable door in its rear wall, the said casing also having an opening through its side wall located between the said door and air inlet, the screen partially inclosing the picker drum and having an upward and backward inclined portion and a horizontal portion, the horizontal portion of said screen lying in a plane below the said opening through the side of the casing, the rotary beater having its axis parallel with and above and in rear of the axis of the picker druin, the casing inclosing the beater and communicating with the interior of the picker drum casing at one end through the opening in the side wall of the said drum casing, and means for causing a current of air to flow through the two said casings.

In testimony whereof we aiiix our signatures, in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES C. GARNER. Vitnesses JOHN M. Boo'rn, T. H. D'ivnnnns.

C. S. REYNOLDS. Witnesses F. P. FOLEY, G. D. GOMTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

